


Covered

by ellfie



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor: Tales of Asgard
Genre: Brotherly feels, Gen, bbu loki, bbu thor, feel free to interpret otherwise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-19
Updated: 2014-07-19
Packaged: 2018-02-07 06:30:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1888482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellfie/pseuds/ellfie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thor is afraid of the dark. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>  <i>Thor was not sure how to respond to his fear being dragged out into the open by his small brother. “I-I’m not crying,” Thor mumbled. </i></p>
<p> </p>
<p>  <i>“You really must stop lying,” Loki said, attempting to take on a chiding tone like their mother used.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Covered

**Author's Note:**

> Thor and Loki are both very young in this, though the age gap may be perceived as farther. The idea spawned out of an RP, where Thor decided to come up with this concept within a para so then of course I had to write it out. Also I really need to invest in a beta whoops. (I have a betta fish, does that count?)
> 
> Dedicated to my sister~

The child prince twisted beneath his covers, flipping this way and that every other minute. The windows were drawn tight, no light escaping through to ease his growing tension. Thor stared, uselessly wide-eyed into the darkness of his room, mind reeling with thoughts of what hid within the shadows. He had been put to bed hours ago, and still could do little more than restlessly stare, too frightened to crawl out of his bed and into the darkness to find his mother or nursemaid for help.

“Thor?” Loki’s whisper broke through the silence with surprising softness, his voiced drifting over drowsily from the other side of the room where he slept. He must’ve woken him up with his tossing and turning. Thor froze, shutting his mouth tightly, not wanting his brother to realize he could not sleep. “Thor, are you awake?”

“No,” he snipped, flushing in embarrassment when realizing his mistake. Loki said nothing, and for a moment the blond thought he had gone back to sleep. A rustle of blankets was all the warning he had before the edge of his bed sank slightly with new weight.

“Why are you lying?” Loki asked through the darkness, a curious but amused tone that added,  _we both know who lies best._ He could almost see that green, mischievous spark in his younger brother’s eyes, but the darkness kept him blind to everything but his imagination. Thor whimpered at the thought, despite himself, thinking he heard the growl of a monster nearby. He didn’t move nor speak, worried anything would draw attention to himself and he would be consumed by shadow creatures. The bed shifted again, and the boy-prince jumped when he felt hands on his face. 

“Why are you crying?” Thor shot his hands up to his eyes, though they were unable to do anything but hover nearby while Loki’s little fingers trailed down his cheeks in line with the tears. The younger boy’s tone was softer this time, amusement gone and concern and confusion filling it.

How could Loki understand? The dark prince found comfort in darkness, had no reason to fear it. He was still too young, and Thor had shielded him from the tales of monsters and demons that his friends and nursemaid like to tell him. Loki had always enjoyed darker rooms anyway, tending to sit closer to shadows than sunlight for reasons neither could explain. Thor, on the other hand, could only think of all the monsters — demons of Muspelheim, frost giants of Jotunheim, eaters of Aesir flesh of Hel — all these things could sneak into his room, beneath his bed, within each shadow, just waiting to sink their fangs and talons and claws into him. Perhaps it was only because the adults, exasperated with his behavior, would tell him things like — Be good, lest Thrym come freeze your blood in the middle of the night!

No matter, it did its job, and Thor was not sure how to respond to his fear being dragged out into the open by his small brother. “I-I’m not crying,” Thor mumbled.

“You really must stop lying,” Loki said, attempting to take on a chiding tone like their mother used. Coming from a small child, it was enough to make the prince laugh in any other situation. As it was, Thor just swallowed thickly.

“I’m  _not_.” Thor argued, slapping Loki’s hands away, which had been running up and down his cheeks, inspecting his tears and smoothing them away with a gentle touch. Thor, instead, wiped the remnants of his tears roughly, sitting up and squinting through the darkness to make out Loki’s outline. “Where are you?” He reached a hand out, trying to find the source of his little brother’s voice.

Loki  _hmm’_ ed thoughtfully and caught his hand with both of his, though they were dwarfed by Thor’s. Loki swung their hands between them for a moment before bringing Thor’s up to rest against his cheek. Glad to have an anchor, Thor shuffled closer and let his fingers curl around the back of his brother’s head, palm pressed against his cheek, Loki’s head oddly tiny within his hold. Loki leaned into the touch like a cat, one hand placed against Thor’s, the other fingering the sleeve of his brother’s sleeping tunic at his wrist.

Then, Loki was gone.

Thor’s hand only meeting air, the boy gave a cry, whimpering as he groped the air to find his brother. “L-Loki, brother, don’t — why—”

Just as quickly had he had left, so Loki reappeared under his touch, though the darkness still hid him from Thor. ”You are afraid?” Loki concluded in shocked confusion, letting his brother find his hand, shoulder, then face again. Thor Odinson was never afraid. “Of what?” Thor’s fingers fumbled blindly over Loki’s form, and Loki blinked. “Ah, you cannot see, can you, brother?”

Thor whimpered something that sounded like  _no_ and the younger prince let Thor gather him up and pull him towards himself. Loki sat, half in Thor’s lap, while the older brother acted very young and engulfed the other in a tight embrace, burying his face in Loki’s dark hair. Loki wound his arms out from between him and his brother, instead wrapping them around Thor so best as his small arms could do, and smoothing his fingertips over his back much like their mother would do whenever either of her boys were upset. Thor gave something between a whimper and a coo. His brother seemed a different entity entirely when in the dark, such soft sounds rare from his lips. Loki had found ways to see through the dark, and he thought it normal until he realized his brother was more or less blind.

“You are afraid of the dark, brother?” Loki formed it as a question, even though he knew the answer, as it gave room for Thor’s denial.

“Of course not!” The golden prince lied for the forth time, speaking into Loki’s hair.

Loki clucked his tongue like he’d heard their nursemaid do whenever she did not approve of something. He did not comment, however, and pulled away from the blond.

“Do not leave me!” Thor cried out, feeling more and more foolish as the minutes passed, but just as frightened. What if the monsters got him? What if they got  _Loki_? He couldn’t let that happen. He wouldn’t.

Loki, on the other hand, hushed him gently and scooted off his lap, but kept a tender hold of his hand. The boy shuffled around until he managed to pull the covers over top them both, creating a tented space between them. Thor breathed a little harder, not lighting small spaces, especially dark ones, but Loki shuffled around, making sure he had enough room. The two boys were sitting up, though the sheet fell at and awkward angle down from Thor’s head, which was higher thank Loki’s. Loki held out his hands for Thor to catch, then moved them down to rest in the blond’s lap, patting his larger hands in a gesture for him to keep them still, before Loki pulled his hands away and positioned them in the air between them.

Moments passed in silence, Thor shifting uncomfortably while Loki concentrated on the space between his palms. Thor could sense Loki was attempting to preform some feat, but was unsure what, and did not like being stuck under the dark covers, forced to remain still. “Brother—”

Loki hushed him again, and Thor fell back into silence with a quiet sniffle. 

Right as Thor thought he could take no more, something sprang to life between Loki’s palms. They both yelped, the fire flickering and reaching out to catch them both and Loki quickly snuffed it out with an annoyed huff. “Not quite,” he mumbled to himself.

“What are you doing?” Thor hissed, worried. “You’re going to get us both—”

The darkness between them fled, Loki’s face lighting up so Thor could finally see his smile and sparkling eyes, reflecting the soft, creamy light that hovered between his palms. It pulsed like a tiny heart, whisps of pure light the size of a baby bird that seemed to breathe with a life of its own. Its light was cool and soft, not like the harsh light of a flame. Thor stared down at it in amazement, hands moving slowly to inspect it, entranced by the way it fluttered, dimming occasionally, but not flickering like the light of a candle. He could almost hear a distant, soft giggle as a vine of light reached out to brush the brothers’ fingertips.

Loki’s faced shown with pride, smile wide and unguarded, staring down at his work in delight. Thor’s own smile grew, gaze moving between the light and his little brother’s face. He leaned forward, careful not to disturb Loki’s light carrying hands, and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, pulling him into a hug. Thor pressed a kiss into his little brother’s hair, while Loki peered curiously up at him.

“You like it?” He asked hopefully into his shoulder.

“It’s perfect.” Thor pulled back and smoothed Loki’s disturbed hair down, the motion gentle and affectionate. Loki’s smile grew brighter, hearing the unspoken truth of his brother’s words:  _You_ are perfect _._

Thor never feared the dark after that night, and for a long while, Loki never questioned the security of his place within his brother’s heart.

**.x. **


End file.
